I’ve had the incredible pleasure of seeing Anastacia perform live as she was supporting Bon Jovi on one of their European tours. At the time, Anastacia had just hit the charts with the bangers, “Not That Kind” and “I’m Outta Love”. So take it from an eye witness: The powerhouse lady delivers live.
While touring, last year, Anastacia used her official app to take request from her fans. Three songs from her set list were flexible and determined by the outcome of the app. The best live performances have been collected on the album “A 4 App”, which was released at the end of 2016.
The first thing you’ll notice is that none of her big hits are on the collection of live songs. Of course, she couldn’t make those songs flexible of her set list. Usually that’s what people come to see, so she already explains on the album that she had chosen to let fans vote for B-sides and album tracks. This has led to a very interesting collection of songs.
Anastacia has already got an interesting catalog, anyway, mixing a little bit of dance, pop, funk and rock, and sometimes a hint of some country music or country rock to boot. You can actually tell from her fashion style, too. It’s also a little bohemian meets rock.
The live album gives you a great sense of the energy she provides on stage. Her vocal is known to have that raspy-sound, but in her live version of “Who’s Gonna Stop The Rain”, I really start to wonder if she’s tired. The song still has that power, but her rasp appears so frequent that it’s got me wondering. Either way, it is not at all irritation, because she doesn’t seem to lose the vocal control for a bit.
The album is an independent release in collaboration with Pledge Music, a platform that allows musicians to sell music directly to fans. However, the album is available for streaming as well. For big Anastacia fans out there, it would be interesting to know that there are signed copies sold as well and Anastacia will bring last year’s tour back on the road in May and June. You can check her out in the UK then.
